One step up in Dell's line from the Editors' choice Dell 1355cnw Multifunction Color Printer ($419.99 direct, 4 stars), and meant for more heavy-duty use, the Dell 2155cn ($549.99 direct) fills a void of sorts. It's not the first color laser MFP in its price class by any means, but it's the first to offer a combination of speed, output quality, and MFP features to make it an Editors' Choice. As such, it fills a gap between the less expensive 2155cn below, and the more expensive Canon Color ImageClass MF8350Cdn ($699 direct, 4 stars) above.

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Clearly aimed at micro and small offices and workgroups with moderately heavy-duty printing needs, the 2155cn offers fast speed, above-par output quality across the board, and all the MFP features a small office is likely to need. In addition to printing, scanning, and faxing from a PC, including over a network, it can work as a standalone copier and fax machine, and can scan to or print from a USB key. It also includes a 35-page automatic document feeder (ADF) to make quick work of multipage documents, as well as scan legal-size pages, which won't fit on the flatbed.

Its paper handling is also a good fit for a small office, with a 250-sheet tray and a one-sheet manual feed bypass tray, so you can feed individual sheets of a different paper stock. For those who need additional capability, Dell sells an optional second 250 sheet tray ($149.99 direct). If you need duplexing as well, Dell also sells the 2155cdn ($649.99 direct), the same printer with a duplexer included.

Setup and speed
The 2155cn measures 22.8 by 17.2 by 21.1 inches, which means you probably won't want it sitting on your desktop. It's also heavy enough, at 66.1 pounds, so you'll probably want some help moving it into place. Once you find a spot for it, however, setup is absolutely typical. For my tests, I connected it to a wired network, and ran the tests from a Windows Vista system.

Dell rates the printer at 24 pages per minute (ppm) for both color and monochrome, which should be close to what you see when printing text files without graphics or photos. On our business applications suite (timed with QualityLogic's hardware and software), I measured it at a suitably fast 5.9 ppm. That's significantly faster than the 1355cnw, at 4.5 ppm, and essentially tied with the MF8350Cdn, at 6.3 ppm.

Output Quality
The 2155cn's output quality is in the top tier for color laser MFPs for both text and photos and just below the top tier for graphics. For the moment, at least, it's simply the best-looking output overall for any color MFP in its price class.

Text quality is good enough for anything but the most demanding desktop publishing applications. Graphics are easily good enough for any business need up to and including handouts for important clients when you want the subtext to convey a sense of professionalism. Depending on how demanding you are, you may consider them good enough for marketing materials like trifold brochures and one-page mailers as well. Photos approach true photo quality, making them easily good enough for things like marketing materials or for client or company newsletters
Of course, any printer design can be improved. The 2155cn could be faster, offer even better output quality, or simply be smaller and lighter. Ultimately, though, the only design choice I would take issue with is the lack of a multipurpose tray to let you easily feed stacks of different paper stock than you have in the standard tray. But even that oversight is partly addressed by the one-page manual feed. There is, in short, an awful lot to like about the 2155cn, and very little to complain about, which puts it well ahead of its direct competition and makes it an easy pick for Editors' Choice.

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M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for...
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